(ATR) The president of Lombardy Roberto Maroni confirmed today that the Italian region is a candidate to host the 2028 Summer Games, provided Los Angeles wins the bid for 2024.
The recent decision by Rome city officials to veto an Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) bid for the 2024 Games has left Budapest, Los Angeles and Paris still in the hunt.
If Budapest or Paris win, it would rule out a European bid for 2028.
But Maroni believes Lombardy should begin to prepare an application bid just in case.
After Rome bowed out, Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala told Italian media last month that the Lombardy capital should consider a 2028 bid. But Sala admitted he was thinking a Milan bid should include Turin and Genoa, making use of Turin’s stadiums and Genoa's seaside location.
Italy has not hosted the Summer Olympics since 1960 in Rome.
Paris 2024 Venue Hosts ATP Masters Tennis Tournament
A proposed Paris 2024 venue is taking center stage this week.
The AccorHotels Arena is hosting the BNP Paribas Masters international tennis tournament. The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event features the world’s best male players.
The venue, which would be known as Paris Arena I during a Paris Games, is to host the basketball finals and judo for the Olympics and wheelchair basketball for the Paralympics.
"It is great to see yet another major sports event taking place at one of our proposed venues for Paris 2024, " bid co-president Tony Estanguet said in a statement.
"Paris has hosted the ATP Masters 1000 for the last 30 years demonstrating our strong track record in delivering international sports events including multiple World Championships in Olympic sports and several world renowned annual events. Our enviable reputation in major event delivery proves that Paris 2024 can be trusted partners for the Olympic and Paralympic Movement."
Two of the sponsors associated with this week’s tournament – BNP Paribas and AccorHotels – are among the 13 Official Partners of the Paris 2024 bid that have together contributed more than $28.75 million in private sector funding.
Paris has not hosted the Olympics since 1924.
Budapest Hosts Badminton Championships
Budapest is receiving praise after hosting the 41st YONEX Hungarian International Badminton Championships.
Some 196 players from 30 countries took part in the tournament, which was upgraded to "International Challenge" status to offer more world ranking points and three times the prize money.
Organizers offered free admission in an effort to expose a wider demographic of spectators to the sport.
"Budapest has shown convincing reasons why the city can offer an outstanding experience in the 2024 Games," Thomas Lund, the secretary general of the Badminton World Federation, said in a statement.
"What we saw at Budapest was an important milestone in the European competitions, and it was good news that it had a higher level of competition which will improve even further in the future."
Budapest is rapidly growing its reputation as a world-class sport host city.
The Hungarian capital will be hosting the 2016 Non-Olympic Weight Wrestling World Championships in December.
Some of the events slated for 2017 in the Hungarian capital are the European Water Polo Championships in January, the European Aquatics Championships in May, the European Open Water Swimming Championships in June and the FINA World Aquatics Championships in July.
The Judo World Championships will also be held in Budapest next year.
Budapest 2024 says it is aiming to take the world’s biggest sporting event back to its roots, inspiring other mid-sized cities to bid, and strengthening future diversity within the footprint of the Olympic Games.
LA 2024 Teams Up With Edison International
LA 2024 has a new partner on board as it works to make its commitment to staging an innovative, energy efficient and environmentally friendly Games a reality.
Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States and will be collaborating with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, other utilities in the region and LA 2024 to help design a Games plan that relies on energy that is clean, sustainable and reliable.
"With no permanent construction required to host the Games and working with experienced utility leaders at Edison International and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, environmental protection and conservation will be at the forefront of our planning and our culture as we invite the world to ‘Follow the Sun’ to a New Games for a New Era," LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said in a statement.
LA 2024 is seeking to bring the Games to Los Angeles for a third time and the first time since 1984.
The IOC will award the 2024 hosting duties at the IOC Session in Lima, Peru in September 2017.
Written by Gerard Farek
Homepage photo: Getty Images
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